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Did you know that Unanet can be configured to help manage your Service Contract Act (SCA) contracts? With the correct setup, Unanet offers features that support compliance with SCA requirements—helping ensure accurate wage calculations and benefit allocations.
Here’s a quick overview of implementing SCA functionality in Unanet to make sure you’re getting it right from the start.
Key Areas of SCA Compliance
When managing an SCA-covered contract, there are several core areas of compliance to consider:
- Wages: Employees must be paid at or above the minimum wage rate listed in the applicable Wage Determination (WD) for their labor category and location.
- Health & Welfare (H&W) Benefits: Health & Welfare benefits—or their cash equivalent—must be provided according to the applicable WD requirements.
- Sick Leave & PTO: Employees must receive the appropriate amount of sick leave and paid time off (PTO) as required under the SCA and related Executive Orders.
- Pay in Lieu of Benefits: If employees aren’t receiving benefits in kind, employers must provide a cash equivalent in the form of pay in lieu of benefits based on the H&W rate and the actual cost of any benefits already provided.
Managing Wage Determinations in Unanet
One of the first steps in implementing SCA compliance in Unanet is setting up wage determinations. These rates must be pulled from SAM.gov, where each wage determination includes specific rates based on labor category and location.
Your Unanet contract setup will need to map each SCA labor category to its applicable wage determination (WD). If you’re not sure which wage determinations apply to your contract, our team of experts can help you review the documentation and determine the correct setup.
Handling Health & Welfare (Fringe) Benefits
Managing H&W benefit calculations is one of the most challenging parts of SCA compliance. Not all hours worked count toward the H&W calculation—typically, only up to 40 hours per week on covered contracts qualify.
According to the SCA, cash in lieu of benefits must be separately identified on employee pay statement. Unanet allows for structured time and expense tracking or the use of custom-built export reports to ensure accurate tracking and calculation of these benefits.
Our Redstone GCI team can assist in setting up user-defined fields to track each SCA employee’s selected benefits, making it easier to calculate the value of benefits provided and determine what (if any) pay in lieu is owed each period.
Posting Pay in Lieu of Benefits (PILOB)
Unanet includes a cost post feature to automatically calculate pay in lieu of benefits. The internal calculation works as follows:
- Start with the H&W rate from the applicable wage determination.
- Subtract the value of any actual benefits the employee receives (as recorded in their Unanet profile).
- Multiply the result (if greater than zero) by the number of applicable hours worked—generally up to 40 hours per week under covered contracts.
This ensures that employees receive the proper compensation if they are not receiving full benefits.
Simplifying SCA Compliance with Unanet
Setting up SCA compliance in Unanet requires careful attention to detail—but you don’t have to go it alone. Our Redstone GCI experts can help you configure wage determinations and benefits tracking, test and validate calculations for accuracy and compliance, and provide desktop process templates to support your internal team. We also help clients move away from error-prone spreadsheets and avoid the high cost of outsourcing by leveraging the tools already available in Unanet.
Our team doesn’t just implement Unanet—we bring extensive expertise in government contracting. With years of experience supporting government contractors across a wide range of industries, we know how to tailor system configurations to meet not only SCA requirements but also your operational goals. From initial setup to long-term maintenance and troubleshooting, we’re here to provide expert guidance every step of the way.
For more details about how H&W benefits work, check out our article “Understanding Health and Welfare Under the Service Contract Act (SCA).”
If you’re ready to simplify compliance and reduce risk while maximizing the value of your Unanet system, contact our team today. We are ready to help you get started—and stay ahead.
Unanet Implementation Specialist Renee is an Unanet Implementation Specialist at Redstone Government Consulting, Inc., based in our Huntsville, Alabama office. She holds multiple Unanet certifications, including Implementation Specialist, Accounts Payable User, Accounts Receivable User, GovCon Billing & Revenue User, GovCon General Ledger User, Unanet Administrator, and Unanet Projects. Professional Experience Renee is a highly skilled and experienced professional in the field of accounting, with a strong background in working with private companies and government contractors. With years of experience in various accounting systems and roles, Renee has become an asset to any organization she works with. Renee has played an instrumental role in designing and launching a payroll system and has extensive experience in full-cycle accounting and reporting. She is proficient in data analysis and project management and is skilled in organization and time management. Renee has experience and knowledge in implementing multiple accounting systems, including Unanet, Microsoft Dynamics GP, and Quickbooks, as well as system training experience. She is skilled in General Ledger, Payroll, Cash, Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable, Data Analysis, Expense Reporting, Inventory Management, Fixed Assets, and Depreciations, and is familiar with FAR, DFARs, GAAP, CAS, and DCAA compliance. In summary, Renee Van Cleve is a highly accomplished and skilled accounting professional with diverse experience and expertise in various industries and is an asset to the Redstone GCI team.